Angling Lines News Report – January 2006
As I look out over the French countryside that can be seen from my office window, the snow covered fields and gardens stretch out as far as the eye can see. The recent snowfall over much of the country was considerably heavier than has been experienced in a number of decades. Lakes have frozen over and fishing has all but ground to a halt. There are only forty odd days until spring as I write, but this certainly feels a long way off.

Despite this rather brutal interruption to both angling and fish farming pursuits, this cold snap is widely considered a good thing for fish populations. The warm and wet winters that have been the norm in the first few years of the 21 1st century, have had a dramatic effect on the proliferation of fish viruses. With luck the prolonged cold period will make the organisms responsible for this mortality less abundant in the coming spring and give our carp populations a fair chance at survival.

Les Genets
Les Genets is among the most attractive venues in Normandy and is immaculately maintained by Heather and Larry. Carp stocks are excellent and catches consistent. The venue has received a quick make over this winter in the shape of a lick of paint in the lodge which comprises a shower, toilet and kitchen block. The general aspect of the lake has been kept in check with trees trimmed and swims widened to make casting easier.

Larry has even managed to get the rods out in the cold weather, and not without some success. With the daytime high of just +2°C in early January, using just a single hook bait of the new Quest Baits Smokey Fish, he banked a superbly conditioned 31lb mirror in just two hours fishing. A result that proves that the venue can produce in winter and that the new Quest Baits seem to be very effective.

Click here to learn more about Genets

La Sauvellière
This lovely intimate venue is a new destination for 2006. The lake has been completely restocked with carp from mid doubles to the latest introduction in the shape of a marvellous 42lb mirror. In addition to this monster a further 15 double figure carp were added to the main stocking of some 40 carp before Christmas. At 3.5 acres this small and charming lake should provide excellent sport for the visiting carper.

Set up as a family orientated venue, the accommodation is in the process of being finished off. The bankside chalet, when complete, will offer sleeping for 4 people, with shower, toilet and kitchen facilities and a terrace that over looks the lawn by the lake.

Click here to learn more about Sauvellière

Mas Bas
There are some venues in France that have atmosphere the moment you set foot on the place. a magic feel that is difficult to describe. Mas Bas is one such venue. I don't know, perhaps it is the light one gets in this southern French region niched in the hills behind the Lot valley. The colours certainly seem to be bold, and meridianal. Deep ochre yellows, rusty reds and pastel greens. Yellow like the sunflowers that are often grown here to produce oil, the ochre paint on the walls of the houses and the rust red tiles that cover the roofs. All add up to make this one of the most colourful regions of France .

Following on from the bankside work on the lakes, which have given more access to the fishing areas and a larger surface area in which to tempt the resident carp, the owners Lesley and Gilles have stocked a new batch of fish comprising of 55 double figure carp from 11lb to 18lb to strengthen the ranks of the larger specimens already present in the venue. The lake record stands at 49lb.

As a holiday venue, Mas Bas has been somewhat inconsistent in the past. Good catches of the large resident fish have been made, but numbers have often been disappointing. The introduction of this new young stock should see the pleasure angler in with a good chance of catching and who knows maybe bump into one of the big boys.

Click here to learn more about Mas Bas

Old Oaks
Work is continuing at a fast pace on the Old Oaks lake. The venue has been entirely fenced in with over 500m of fencing, thus making the lake secure and secluded. The chalet, that will be equipped with the toilet and shower facilities, has been erected and the five custom built swims completed. The final touches, such as gravel on the track, car park and entrance will be added over the coming weeks.

Finally the last part of the stocking programme will be undertaken, weather permitting, next week. A batch of some 25-35 carp will be added to the venue to compliment the impressive stock that the owner has already introduced this winter. Again these carp, mirrors and commons, will be of a very good average size, around 23-25lb, with the largest individuals over 30lb. The final tally will be 110 fish introduced on top of the original resident fish. The average size is in the mid to upper twenties with a good head of thirties to 40lb plus.

As always Mehdi's attention to detail is outstanding and he has certainly created what will be his second top class carp venue.

Click here to learn more about Old Oaks

Bait News:
Probably the single most important event for the Angling Lines Company is the imminent launch of the Quest Baits range of boilies, pellets and particles.

After the outstanding success of our Special Crab boilies in 2005 we have decided to invest heavily in our bait company in 2006. The arrival of Shaun Harrison, with his immense knowledge of carp baits, bait making and baits applications has led us to a new range of baits that we believe are simply outstanding. Here's a brief run down of the individual boilies.

Special Crab - Fish meal based with added Robin Red and a combination of other carefully selected birdfood ingredients to give a bait that is high in amino acids, easily digestible and containing that all important 'just one more' stimulation.

Tiger Nut Crunch - Tiger nut aroma, crammed full of nut bits, insects and crushed seeds. These are much better for the carp than the real thing to promote healthy growth and still retaining that 'crunch' that the carp love.                                                                      

Smokey Fish - High quality fish meals with a mellow smokehouse fish smell containing a special blended combination of enhancers and stimulators, containing all the carp's summer nutritional requirements.

Rahja Spice - Indian curry smell with a fiery back taste. Easily digested this is a favourite with our bait consultants. Rahja contains a well proven selection of spices, peppers, essential oils, enhancers and stimulators. Quite simply the carp love it! 

Fruity Trifle - Highly attractive yellow bird food base containing easily digestible and nutritious blend of insect invertebrates, crushed seed and a sprinkling of crunchy nut finished off with a lovely rich creamy fruit smell and taste.

Irish Cream - A gorgeous blend of flavours gives this bait its own unique smell. Based on the base mix that's been so successful during the winter months for Shaun Harrison for many years now, it is equally effective in the summer, where it offers a very good flavour release making it a true, instantly attractive bait - but still made up from proper food. This is definitely not just a flavour carrier.

The baits will be available as fresh or shelf-life in a variety of sizes.

In addition to boilies our range will also include pellets of various types, including our own blend "Maximum Action" pellets, made up from our base mixes to mirror the boilies and to compliment them perfectly. We will naturally offer pop-ups, dips and glugs in all the various flavours.

Finally, no bait range would be complete without Particles. We will be offering a full range of seeds, beans, and general particle baits, both dry and prepared, including a few old favourites of Shaun's from the 80's that have been dropped by many carpers, but remain as effective now as they were then.

We are very excited about this new bait range; they have already proved themselves to be extremely effective carp catchers. You will now get the chance to be let in on some of Shaun's little secrets that have helped him remain one of the country's top carp catchers for over 20 years.

That's all for now.

See you next month.

Gareth